July 25, 2003

The Faces of War

The Houston Chronicle has set up a searchable database of US & UK casualties in the Iraq War. You can see who, when, and how all these lives were cut short. It's sobering to go beyond the statistics, look at the faces and read the details.

"From the time he was a boy, Thomas Mullen Adams wanted to know all he could about ships and planes."

"Sgt. Michael E. Bitz was a father of four especially eager to see his youngest children, twins born a month after he was sent overseas."

"Marine Lance Cpl. Jose Gutierrez was an orphan who grew up on the steets of war-torn Guatemala. As a youth, he traveled to the United States by train, foot and bus, seeking a new life."